Monday, March 31, 2014

Since the first DLC download have yet to be introduced in the main mix of maps I wonder if I will even bother with the second pack - either way I am one a bunch of folks that are so frustrated with Ghosts. Onslaught was ok- but when it never mixed in with the middling packs of maps it just added to the utter lameness of the online experience of the game. I think Call of Duty should do 2 things have an all-star game with players voting on their favorite maps from all the games and instead of a map pack let folks vote on maps they never want to play again.

Finally! Mad Men Season 6 is on Netflix- I had re-watched the first 5 seasons last fall. I watched Season 6 while it ran, but I want to have all the details of one of my favorite shows fresh in my head as it heads towards its swansong. The grand façade - the series starts with the perfect American family headed by the dashing Don Draper and the former model Betty Draper. Draper is an ad man based in New York City while living in a nice suburban house outside of the city and Betty is tending to their family. Mixing historical events with the inner workings of Madison Avenue ad agency this show mixes wit and drama with perfect balance. If you have not watched the show - it is a binge-worthy show and you have until April 13th to catch up.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Of course almost everything is free with the right search and app nowadays - but here are places I tend to visit as often as I can for quality tunes. A few weeks ago De La Soul offered their entire back catalogue for free download- that offer is over- but follow them online for more free stuff

Uno - The Hype Machine - a site that compiles tunes from all the blogs in all the land - some of the stuff is free- some is not- but with the addition of a chart it is a quick way to see what is bubbling under - from a variety of sources.

I found this haunting sludge mix of a Destiny's Child tune from that site among many many others

Dos- Soundcloud - this site offers tons of freebies - it is a sifting process- figure out who to follow and it get's easier- but then you may miss something - a great source for new EDM stuff- but also a ton of other genres- this cracks me up- "crank thxt"

Three - Soul Sides - leave to the specialists - this site unearths a treasure trove of gospel, funk , soul , latin , etc- well worth a visit if you enjoy vintage R&B and soul from the 60s and 70s- but also has great old school hip hop and more - a personal fave. The following song I don't know if was posted on Soul Sides - but I found it when I randomly purchased a CD sampler in 2001 or so- funky as all get out- around a minute in they kick in the jams- a hidden gem that is an essential for all funk fans.

Four - Fluxblog - alternative with a pop sensibility - currently you can find songs by Kylie Minogue and the Liars- a good source for new music - going strong since 2002.

Five - CMJ- I still have tons of their samplers in CD Wallets- by the way- bad idea to put things into CD Wallets- sure it takes less space- but - if you don't have the cover art or jewel box you probably can't sell back the CDs you purchased- not that many folks purchase those retro coasters anymore- 10 years ago if you had told me that vinyl would be selling as well as it is and CDs are fading into the VHS bin of obscurity I would think maybe if Napster had made it- oh wait they didn't but it does not matter.... This month's CMJ sampler - I really dig the first 2 cuts- punkish vibe and energy. This Xiu Xiu song is from an older sampler.

Six - Free Music Archive - courtesy of WFMU- the most reknowned freeform radio station in the US- separated by genre - there is a ton of stuff to sift thru- lots of source material for odd mix tapes and more.

It always grinds my gears when folks say there is no good new music out there. I bet there is plenty new to them music out there that would suit their tastes - but it is a matter of digging or rather listening - and yes it can be frustrating listening to the millionith "Animals" clone or a cruddy demo by a band that has only played a bar-b-q before they decided they wanted to tour the country( now I wish I had saved that letter - the demo was flung from a speeding vehicle in the 90s)- but in the end it is fun and gratifying hearing the next thing or things

I almost forgot what started this post - I got a new free download link from Alligator Records
Love this funky blues number from James Cotton

Arnold Schwarzenegger will induct Bruno Sammartino into the
WWE Hall of Fame.

AJ beats Butterfly Belt champ Kaitlyn by countdown.

WWE13 is back on shelves everywhere due to 2K sports.

How do you make a segment with 4 Hall of Famers and the
headliners of Wrestlemania a bore and a chore? Easy- hand the microphone to
John Cena- he was terrible. The Rock not only Rock-Bottomed him to button up
the segment but ran laps around Cena on the microphone.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Hypnotic, mesmerizing and emotionally exhausting this 1975 Australian movie should be added to your Netflix cue ASAP. Combining a top notch mystery based on the 1968 historical novel by Joan Lindsay with beautiful cinematography and note perfect sound design including music by Zamfir this movie captured my imagination from the first moment forward. If you are looking for something that is not the normal test-screened dreck that Hollywood churns out this is well worth the investment in time. A+

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

The Outfit is a straightforward revenge/ heist neo-noir from the mid-70s filled with classic film noir actors like Robert Ryan , Marie Windsor and Elisha Cook , Jr. Written by the same man responsible for the story that fueled the 60s classic Point Blank starring Lee Marvin and directed the director of Rolling Thunder this is a title worth seeking out for any fan of hardboiled crime drama. The movie starts out with a rural assassination and then as the credits roll Robert Duvall is released from prison. Turns out his brother was the pre-credit victim. The rest of the movie pits Duvall against a syndicate that includes Timothy Carey. Duvall rides with his lady friend Karen Black and recruits Joe Don Baker to be his muscle. Luckily this movie has been rescued from the cutout bin of history - I was lucky enough to see it on TCM and if you want you can watch it on Amazon direct.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

or is it . Is it too easy to obtain music or has it been slowed down by the tons of new content that is flooding the interweb? I have been a music fan all my life. I went from singing bluegrass and old-timey music with my parents at weekly parties to buying Thriller by Michael Jackson on cassette.

Then I was obsessed with MJ and then Prince after seeing Purple Rain.

Prince led me to funk and ska and Hendrix and Sly Stone and other groovy tunes. I can remember staying after school to buy the cassette to Around the World in a Day and then trudging thru the snow to purchase Parade the following the year. My high school years were a time of great musical discovery , borrowing cassettes from friends by artists ranging from Thin Lizzy to the Replacements.

I was lucky enough to go to a performing arts camp in New Jersey that led me to discover the Fleshtones, Sigue Sigue Sputnik Dead Milkmen , the Boogie Boys and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince among others.

In college I met my wife and we were 2 musical searchers who could not stop. I first noticed her when she entered my dorm-room and my life and was looking not just at the spine of my tape collection but also reading the listings for all of my mix-tapes. That year led to a lifelong appreciation of the Talking Heads and Sinead O'Connor and a chance discovery of the Times Square soundtrack and the single to "Read About it" by Midnight Oil at a flea market. That year also was the year I discovered Living Color and the Red Hot Chili Peppers - and I purchased both albums because I loved the cover art and was looking for something new to listen to. RHCP were between contracts and they were hard to find - just like old P-Funk records. Happily due to the resurgence of RHCP and the success of Living Color and sampling by hip-hop , the entire P-Funk catalogue re-emerged.

I also discovered Lyle Lovett when I was a part-time DJ at a country station - the mighty WYTI.

After dropping out of college to be a rock star I was lucky that I landed a job as a DJ with Astro DJs in Hampton Roads- this eventually led to a career as a concert promoter and I was lucky enough to work in several genres over the years.

Around 2000 or so Napster hit and while it was invigorating to finally hear songs that had either never were released or had been out of print it was a turning point for music in many ways.

Pandora's box was open - music fans just needed to point and click and they could find whatever they wanted. Sadly this led to less money for the content creators and even more stringent genre sub-division. Now I start each day browsing Soundcloud hoping to find the next song of the moment, sometimes in an embarrassment of riches I can't recall the song that moved me so much just days earlier that I have to check my notes. I love that each day usually brings me something sonically that makes me laugh think or dance, I do cringe when I see folks say that music sucks now or there is nothing out there-there is plenty out there and quality, not just quantity of all types- you just have to look and if you want to - you can pay .

ok that was a ramble- I thought I had an idea or thought when I started- but the bottomline is I love music and am happy it is part of my life.

This week I will be attending the Lucero concert at Peabody's in Virginia Beach Tuesday March 18 , then I will DJing the early part of the Boneshakers/Killroos show at Peabody's on March 22

and then March 25 I will be playing goth and industrial at Doomgloom in Norfolk.

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

This is an interesting look at thrifty film-making from the perspective of writer, director and actor Greydon Clark. Making a career of finding the latest trend and then making a movie in 15 days with a thread-bare budget was how Clark ended up working with Martin Landau , Tony Curtis , Cybill Shepard and many others in his 4 decade long career. His movies are always engaging -sure he sometimes borrowed sequences from one movie and added them to the next ( the lovers montage in Bad Bunch was taken from his previous movie) and while I may agree more with the MST3k take on Angel's Brigade and Final Justice than he does I am glad to have both movies in my collection along with the Forbidden Dance, Black Shampoo, Hi-Riders , Skinheads and the movie I thought introduced me to his movies Bad Bunch.

Turned out I had Uninvited in my collection along with a VHS copy of Skinheads already. The book is a fascinating read about the unglamorous side of cinema , the constant compromise and sheer will-power to pull off productions outside of the studio system in a shifting marketplace that saw the demise of the traditional studio system , drive-thrus and the rise and fall of the home video market. If you purchase the book thru his website you can also get a DVD of one of his movies and the book is signed.

Monday, March 03, 2014

A night out of the Impact
Zone was much needed. The Fayetteville,
NC crowd popped for Sting as he
recaptured the TNA Heavyweight Championship. It was not a perfect show. It was
anchored down by a lame wedding segment with Jeff Jarrett and Karen
Jarrett(former wife of Kurt Angle) and the evaporation of the X-division. But
still a good showing with a decent sized live crowd not in Orlando-they need to escape the Impact Zone
at least once a month- or at least for PPV.

March 7, 2011

Actor Charlie Sheen
is fired from his role on the hit series Two and a Half Men.

March 11, 2011

Charlie Sheen is
displaced from the headlines as Japan
is rocked by the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. The natural disaster caused
anywhere from 15 to 30 billion dollars worth of damage, over 15 thousand casualties
and several thousand more injured or missing.

Rebecca Black’s “Friday” goes viral, by the end of the year
the video has over 10 million views on YouTube.

March 13 2011

Attempting to mimic
Mike Tyson fights from the late 80s the main event for the TNA PPV Victory Road was short –about
90seconds. Sting caught Jeff Hardy with a scorpion death-drop and won the bout.
The reality was worse- Jeff Hardy showed up in no condition to compete and
instead of a back and forth battle the match was kept short to protect both
talents. The internet wrestling community is outraged- oddly in numbers far
exceeding the 10,000 or so buys that an average TNA PPV averages.

March 15, 2011

Trending el numero
dos on yahoo right now is Snooki- we have went from Billy Martin and Ali to this-
then againJennifer Flowers was
interviewed by the Rock at a previous Mania.

The True Story of
Wrestlemania is released by WWE on DVD and Blu-Ray- sure it is an in-house
glorification of their signature event- but it is a neat look at the Stanley
Cup of wrestling – including rare behind the scenes footage of the Las Vegas
Mania.

VCW –The Rise ofThe
SET

From Challengers to Champions

2011 Bell to Bell Promotions LLC

First off- kudos to VCW- the production on this DVD is light
years ahead of the last DVD I purchased from the company. This features
sit-down interviews with the tag-team The Set – Lance Lude and Jay-Sinn and
several matches including matches against the King of Wrestling and The Briscoe
Brothers. The extra includes a shoot interview (filmed while wrestling is
audibly going on in the background-not an extra so much as the sit-down
sections in one big scoop versus between matches) and an extra match. I imagine
this odd tag team may not get over with someone who has not seen them live(
quite frankly Jay-Sinn has had over 10 pounds added by the camera and Lude is
rail thin)- but they are fun live and their style works on the DVD.B-

March 20, 2011

Wrestling manager and music aficionado Sir
Oliver Humperdink passed away. I did not know him well, but he was one of the
genuine nice guys in the industry. It was always fun talking music with a
wrestling manager that knew and appreciated Bob Margolin and Digital
Underground.

Limitless was the number one movie in America
for the weekend.

March 21, 2011

Chris Jericho scored a 19 of 30 doing a
cha-cha to "Should I Stay or Should I Go" - he looked stiff in his
performance- but I have not seen the other celebs.

Blues legend Pinetop Perkins passed away at the age of 97,
his swinging tune “Take it easy baby” has been a staple of my iPod for years
and tape collection for years before that. He had recently won a Grammy for
best traditional blues albumJoined at the Hiprecorded with Willie “Big Eyes” Smith , he
managed to edge out George Burns for the record for oldest person to win a
Grammy.

March 23, 2011

Film icon Elizabeth Taylor passed away at the age of 79.
Known as much for her multiple marriages as her roles in movies like National
Velvet and Cleopatra, Taylor
was in the paparazzi maelstrom long before Lyndsey Lohan, Kim Kardashian or
Britney Spears had their lives on public display.

March 24, 2011

March 24th
is the first annual Sputnik Monroe day in Memphis,
Tennessee.

March 26, 2011

Liked the match between Christian and Del Rio again- Christian is darned good @
making his opponent look like a million bucks.iMPact ended up in - confusion yet again- but I did like the match
between Tara & Mickie James

“I love the women that TNA has in the knockouts division,
I know all those girls pretty much except maybe 2 in the locker-room and I’ve
pretty much wrestled all those girls and they’re excellent. But again I can not
stand Vince Russo- I don’t know what his problem is. But it seems like it gets
going good with a feud between the girls and then all of the sudden – I don’t
know what the heck happens? It’s like they forgot everything that happened and
went into something else and just dropped it. I don’t understand it. It’s
almost like I need ADD or something to be able to follow it, because it doesn’t
make sense to my logical mind.” The Angel Orsini

The ripple effects of
the bad economy hit close to home as we take in a friend who has lost their
home after 30 years-at first they say they only need to stay for a couple of days
– this eventually turns into a month before they find another place to crash.

March 28, 2011

Fit Finlay is let go
by the WWE. Fit Finlay was a long-time competitor and champion in England and Ireland before he came over and
wrestled for WCW and WWE. He became the mentor for the WWE divas during a
period when they had talented female wrestlers and some decent matches. Finlay
had instructed the Miz to interrupt the National Anthem to garner heel heat-
this made the local contingent of the National Guard upset and led to Finlay’s
firing.

March 29, 2011

WWE releases WWE All Stars for PS3, 360 and several
other gaming platforms. While the game promises interesting matchups between
superstars from the past and the present. I pass on purchasing the game after playing
the free demo online. The wacky over-the-top game-play and the over muscled-
even for wrestling physiques are an instant turnoff. “If Phil Mushnick were in
charge of the WWE- none of the wrestlers would be dead. Do I need to say
anymore? Why am I the bad guy? I understand because they are blind to it. They
don’t want to know. They want to enjoy this little fantasy world that’s loaded
with reality, none of it good. You’d think they would champion what I was
doing. But the guy they defend is the one that kills the guys they purport to
love.” – Phil Mushnick responding to being disliked by wrestling fans

The game did receive basically favorable reviews – I
personally was not interested- but as with many things in wrestling it depends
on your taste and perspective.

March 30, 2011

Former WWE champion Brock Lesnar is a coach on the new
season of the Ultimate Fighter. After hearing him say “make chicken salad out
of chicken shit “ at least twice an episode I stopped watching.

March 30, 2011

Christopher Daniels returns to TNA and helps out members of
Fortune take on Immortal.

“One of the most underrated guys that’s been in the
business in a number of years. Vince McMahon you missed the boat by not hiring
Christopher Daniels. I’ll say it to the day I die you have hired Chris Daniels
and not thought he was too small- because he can work circles around 95% of the
guys you have in that organization.”- Big Bill Anderson